Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek’s latest omission from the team in the 2-1 win over Villarreal has raised further questions over his future at Old Trafford.
Van de Beek once again watched on from the substitutes bench as his side came from behind to beat the Europa League winners.
Former Borussia Dortmund forward Paco Alcacer opened the scoring for the visitors in the second half, before a thunderous strike from left-back Alex Telles drew United level.
Then in the fifth minute of injury time, Ronaldo was waiting in the box to fire the ball home from Jesse Lingard’s lay-off to send the United faithful into raptures at Old Trafford.
After a disappointing first season in England, which saw him handed just four Premier League starts, very little has changed for van de Beek this time around.
The Dutch midfielder has featured for just five minutes so far, in a cameo appearance in the 4-1 win over Newcastle earlier this month.
Van de Beek was handed a starting berth in the Champions League group stage opener at Young Boys, but was substituted almost immediately after the half-time interval for Raphael Varane.
He also played 90 minutes in United’s recent 1-0 EFL Cup loss to West Ham, but his limited opportunities have not convinced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer he is worthy of a place in the first-team.
The 24-year-old has asked to play more, however, currently there is little evidence to suggest that will change in the coming future.
“You can never promise that (game time) that’s just football,” van de Beek recently told United legend Rio Ferdinand on his FIVE YouTube channel. “You can never promise a player and tell him if he can play or not, and I agree with that.
"I have asked to play more. You can train hard every day, but in the end, you need game time.
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"If you only play once a month, you cannot show your best form – playing is really important."
Van de Beek had been linked with a deadline day move to Everton, with the player’s agent revealing to Dutch broadcaster Ziggo Sport that he opened talks with the Toffees.
However, van de Beek played down such rumours in the interview and insisted Solskjaer has told him he would like him to remain at the club.
“No, I spoke with the manager and the club, and they said they wanted me to stay here," Van de Beek said.
"The manager was really positive about me, and he said ‘I need you, and I want to keep you here'".
Solskjaer added: ‘What I see from you every day at training, is a different Donny now’," said van de Beek.
"He was really positive about me, and now I am feeling well, I am in good shape, and I hope that I can show the fans that I have improved a lot.
“He said he sees a big difference, maybe I am a bit stronger now and he can see that I have one year of experience in England now."
United will now switch their focus back to the Premier League where they will come up against Rafa Benitez’s Everton on Saturday and van de Beek will be hoping he can at least play some part in the fixture.
